ANCHORAGE – The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball program continued it reloading effort for next season as head coach Rusty Osborne announced Wednesday that California junior-college standouts Josiah Wood and Jack Macdonald have signed scholarship agreements to play for the Seawolves.

A 6-5, 185-pound guard, Wood will have two years of eligibility with the Seawolves after transferring from Butte College in Oroville, Calif., while Macdonald, a 6-foot, 185-pound guard, will have three years after spending his freshman season at Ohlone College in Fremont, Calif.

“We are excited to add both Josiah and Jack to our program,” said Osborne, whose Seawolves are coming off back-to-back 21-win campaigns. “They were both first-team all-conference in their respective leagues this year, and bring more experience to our lineup. In addition, they bring skills and attributes that will complement our other players. It was our goal to bring in transfers with different attributes, and they fit in with the others perfectly.”

Originally from Reno, Nev., Wood was a two-time First Team All-Golden Valley Conference performer at Butte, starting all 57 career games and helping the Roadrunners to back-to-back California State Tournament appearances and runner-up GVC finishes. As a sophomore, he scored double figures in 25 of 30 games, averaging 14.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, while shooting 46 percent overall and 79 percent on free throws for a club that went 20-10 and reached the state tourney ‘sweet 16.' He averaged 14.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg and shot 81 percent from the charity stripe as a freshman in 2015-16, posting six 20-plus scoring efforts, including a career-high 27 points in a victory over Sacramento City College.

Prior to college, Wood starred at Galena High School in Reno, where he was named the Nevada Div. I North and Sierra League player of the year in 2014-15 by USA Today, leading his league in scoring (15.7 ppg), rebounding (8.8 rpg) and assists (4.1).

“Josiah has been on our radar for two years and had Division I offers this spring,” Osborne added. “He gives us good size to match up with bigger wings, but also has tremendous ball handling skills, which allow him to play multiple positions, including the point. Josiah is a late bloomer and still scratching the surface of his potential, however he comes from a basketball family and has a skill set we believe will be accentuated in our system.”

Meanwhile, Macdonald will continue the fine tradition of Australian players at UAA, following a freshman season that saw him average 10.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists for an Ohlone team that finished 21-9. The Melbourne native scored double figures in 14 of 26 outings – including a season-high 26 points in a 92-87 road win over Las Positas – and proved a superior shooter in his lone season of American basketball in 2016-17, shooting 47 percent overall, 44 percent on three-pointers and 86 percent at the charity stripe.

“Jack comes to us with three years of eligibility and further balances our classes,” Osborne said. “He had an outstanding freshman year and after adjusting to the game here in the States, averaged close to 18 points over the last six-to-eight games. He is a combo guard who can run a team but is also a tremendous shooter who can play the shooting guard spot equally well. But what really attracted us to Jack was his toughness and leadership ability. His coaches at every level raved about his competitiveness as his greatest attribute.”

Back home, Macdonald racked up experience at several levels, leading his high school – Caulfield Grammar – to its league title and the state finals as a senior, while also suiting up for the McKinnon club team and multiple Victoria state all-star squads. Last summer, he averaged 9.5 points and 2.5 assists as one of the top players on the Victoria Metro team at the U20 national tournament.